(Opinion) Why NRS caused the polarizing customization crisis.

[GLoRToR]

NRS always had shit communications.
They're improving but this is a case example.

 

[Trini_Bwoi]

They literally said it nonstop & most agreed & wanted it that way until a short time ago, I get wanting customs after playing it & such (I do too) but this going crazy about it & not expecting what we got at this point when the opposite was indeed said several times (whether you ignored it or not) comes across as some other shit....I get saying hey we changed our mind can you do it this way maybe? But the reaction is so petty. ..

This was only 2 weeks ago where they were still dodging variation questions so let's stop with this "they've been saying presets nonstop" shit

Like do you think the top MK players are so dumb that they'd be wondering about variations if NRS had actually confirmed presets several times lol

 

[Scoot Magee]

I heard that nrs has got it all figured out. I guess that's why they locked the variations for competition.

I just think they made the choice for a reason. They know more than us at the moment.

 

[Orochi]

They never really confirmed it but it was hinted that competitive would most likely have presets. I was pretty sure this would be the case for months even throughout the beta. I also think NRS had it figured out as well for sometime now but I guess they agreed to a GameInformer reveal on the matter, probably not the best call as we can see.

 

[Juggs]

Shit, NRS just needs to have every possible combo of variations setup for tournament play/tournament mode. That would be awesome lmao

 

[MadPropz101]

All I know is I've been super hyped to play the game and now I'm not even half as hyped.

 

[Saint Op Omen]

This was only 2 weeks ago where they were still dodging variation questions so let's stop with this "they've been saying presets nonstop" shit

Like do you think the top MK players are so dumb that they'd be wondering about variations if NRS had actually confirmed presets several times lol

But they did, cant change that they did, even in the vid you linked he said "talk about how the variations play in tournaments" not if you can use custom moves just how the variations would be. I do think they did get vague about it recently & maybe they were debating it & couldn't do it, Idk. I wouldn't say anyone is dumb just had misplaced hope & misunderstood what was likey due to available information (did you read where it said what exactly was going to happen) . I do get that, but I also think the reaction is a lil dramatic. it seems like this is a fun lil thing to get triggered about for people who like that sort of thing though. So have fun.

 

[IamBatface]

People complain about limiting creativity but the vast majority of players used the same moves on their characters anyway, It is less a complaint of not being able to use custom variations are more a concern that you won't be able to use move A with move B + C. We haven't seen what the variations will be and haven't seen all the moves yet, for all you know the custom variation you used may well end up being one of their variations anyway.

 

[Skedar70]

Maybe they did it to test stuff. To get people to actually test customization in the beta instead of just going to preset variations like they would have done if they had know that custom variations aren't allowed competitively.

 

[Blade4693]

I just wish I had known this before hand before I wasted all of that time playing a customized character in the test/beta that I kind of fell in love with.

If we had known from the very beginning that the pre-sets were set in stone for all versions of comp play ranked included then I wouldn't have ever bothered customizing my character and getting attached to it and I would have been fine with whatever was available but because they let us rock all these cool customs (twice) it felt like we kind of got the rug yanked from under us.

Luckily I only played one character so now at least I know with the others I want to play who we haven't tried yet ill be aware of what moves they have from the start since the first time we will have our hands on them is at launch.

 

[PLAYING TO WIN]

www.gameinformer.com/interview/2019/01/17/ed-boon-talks-mortal-kombat-11s-variations-changes-and-roster%3famp

its all there....& yeah just read tons of reveal interviews & vids, they always say everytime set variations, everybody want set variations, & everyone did until the betas really so can't say you didn't know & its easy to change last minute.

Doesn’t change a thing. No official release, Kombat kast literally said they are not taking about it yet. If it was so public why did the Kombat kast not confirm it? They literally said they can’t tak about it yet!!!

 

[PLAYING TO WIN]

This was only 2 weeks ago where they were still dodging variation questions so let's stop with this "they've been saying presets nonstop" shit

Like do you think the top MK players are so dumb that they'd be wondering about variations if NRS had actually confirmed presets several times lol

Then why release a beta with full customization? Why did Tyler, two weeks ago, say they can’t tak about it? Why are kasts showing characters in full customization and not their variations? Not even a nod to the tournament seen in their most public venue.

 

[Kroaken]

Silence speaks volumes and propagates speculation. Allowing a beta with full customization without limiting expectations fueled the fire. Having kombat kast's and character breakdowns essentially teasing the entire community threw more wood on the blaze. While I agree there should be preset variations I UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION COMING FROM THOSE WHO WANTED FULL CUSTOMIZATION. Why did we not see an outcry of this magnitude with MKX or Injustice 2?

The previous two entries into the NRS game library had systems similar to the one coming in mk11. Beyond the surface there were many moves spread out over variations or only available in gear status yet we did not have anything like the current polarizing crisis on every NRS social media outlet. People are losing friends over this! It all comes down to one thing, managing expectations. If this was know from the start it should have been made very clear. The breakdowns on the kasts should have been similar to MKX and they should have shown the set variations. The beta should have been set variations.

Lets think about this for a minute. If injustice 2 never made it clear that some moves would be gear and there was only one clear-cut variations, then proceeded to give us a beta and allow Dr. Fate to have his air projectile and a slow tracking orb I would have been on cloud 9. The cloud would have burst and I would have fallen back to earth without a parachute when they clarified the tracking orb and air fireball are not going to be usable. There was no out cry, there was no twitter or tym crisis. NRS managed expectations appropriately.

Although I am a huge proponent of set variations and think there are too many variables in play, I will have to concede here and say let full customization rock because of the way NRS managed expectations. Just be warned that this will be a game that can only be balanced by making every character broken. Any attempt to do otherwise will result in a few extremely broken characters, majority of mid tier characters and a lot of useless characters.

Anyway you spin this, this is a textbook PR example of how not managing expectations can shoot yourself in the foot.

While I think you're up playing the balance aspect a tad, this was a well written post. Props.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

This is kinda turning into a train wreck. Going to be fun being stuck with 2 given variations of THIS character, while THAT character has 4 or 5 lol.

Fucking Scorpion and Sub Zero will have 20 variations, while poor Kano will have like 2.

 

[B. Shazzy]

Isn’t it up to TO’s how the game is played at their tournaments in the end anyway? We tried preset variations with the last MK and it didn’t work so well to say the least, so why not just run tournaments the way the competitors and fans overwhelmingly want (if they in fact do) despite NRS’ own intentions for how the game should be played?

you know the reason people go to these tournaments is because nrs money. nrs money means nrs rules.

 

[PLAYING TO WIN]

you know the reason people go to these tournaments is because nrs money. nrs money means nrs rules.

curious. what were you advocating for? customization or variants?

 

[NothingPersonal]

 

[NothingPersonal]

Fucking Scorpion and Sub Zero will have 20 variations, while poor Kano will have like 2.

Nah man, Kano will have 4-5. Now Baraka, I don't know about that

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Nah man, Kano will have 4-5. Now Baraka, I don't know about that

I wouldn't be surprised if they just made Baraka a variation of Scorpion and then deleted him from the game. Mournful Tarkatan Scorpion.

 

[TackyHaddock]

Again, wouldn't it help significantly if they simply increased the number of slots that can be included in each variation such that all moves would be included in at least one variation? Based on what we saw in the beta, if they increased 3 slots to five or so, it would seem to resolve this.

 

[kcd117]

Well, they are seeing all this commotion and still haven't spoken a word on the subject themselves. Lack of proper communication caused this and the same thing is just making it worse.

 

[NothingPersonal]

I wouldn't be surprised if they just made Baraka a variation of Scorpion and then deleted him from the game. Mournful Tarkatan Scorpion.

I bet they already did that with a Rain variation of Cetrion

 

[B. Shazzy]

curious. what were you advocating for? customization or variants?

i expected preset varitaions being the standard, but after playing the beta customs won me over. its not like you like can slap on any 3 random specials with the slot system, and the specials arent as silly as the inj 2 gear ones. Seems like it could work out. I dont think nrs wants to bother balancing it all or maybe it conflicts with the DLC specials they plan to sell and separating the player base avoids pay2win situation

Either way, i’ll just play it for what it is like every other release. If I dont like it, I’ll go back to sfv. I prefer no variations at all and whole characters with a traditional meter system and no combo breakers in my fighting game so lul

 

[Juggs]

All I know is that before I played the game, I was against custom variations for tournaments. Pretty much for the same reasons people are against them now. But after actually playing the game, the kustom variation system is really well done and very fun. It also adds a layer of strategy. Yes some characters are only gonna use their best moves if they don’t have many, but there were a coulle characters in the Beta that multiple custom variations were very good, like Baraka for instance. Only character I really played that only had a couple good variation moves was Scorpion.

I agree with P2W, if custom variations were never planned to be used in tournaments, that should have been EXPLICITLY clear AND 100% should have been reiterated by NRS before the stress test and beta. Also, it’s just odd that the kombat kasts are all about custom variation moves. Literally 16 bit always says “I gave him/her” when talking about their variation moves.

 

[GLoRToR]

I don't know how people expect:

- Release at the end of the month
- All their characters in
- None of them broken or op
- Custom variations balanced
- Interesting and unique characters
- A complete and playable game
- Competitive viability

at the very same time.